Bidspirit auction | Rare Polemic: Maamar Mordechai –

Rare Polemic: Maamar Mordechai – Brünn, 1789. Only Edition. - Halachic Responsa and Controversy. She'elot u'Teshuvot Maamar Mordechai — A collection of responsa by Rabbi Mordechai Halberstadt, Av Beit Din of Düsseldorf, along with responses from leading sages of the generation. First Edition. Brno (Brünn), 1789. Extremely rare, as the rabbis of Frankfurt at the time decreed the sefer be eradicated and burned. This was due to the inclusion of a responsum by the author of the Pnei Yehoshua (leaves 62–65), which permitted a legal mechanism allowing kohanim to pass through places without concern for corpse impurity. The rabbis of Frankfurt strongly opposed this ruling. As recounted by the author of Nachal HaEshkol in his work Brit Avraham (Frankfurt, 1860):“…Come and see in the sefer called Responsa Maamar Mordechai by the Gaon… printed in Brünn, 1789… and not two copies could be found in the entire city and its surroundings. In my opinion, the wise men of Frankfurt destroyed it, because they found in it a controversial responsum — in Siman 56 is printed a responsum by the Gaon the author of Pnei Yehoshua, contrary to what is listed in the indexes from Rabbi Yaakov Emden, permitting the creation of a wooden divider (brandveier) for kohanim to pass, without concern for the impurity of underground graves — a ruling which the Frankfurt Beit Din did not accept.” In Responsum 30, the author argues that halachic manuscripts on the laws of treifot (non-kosher animal disqualifications), widely circulated in Ashkenaz under the names of the Shelah, the Kli Yakar, and other great rabbis, were actually forgeries — allegedly fabricated by a notorious informer known as Kreisky. Documentation on this scandal is included. With an approbation from Rabbi Yehoshua Halevi Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Trebitsch, the son of the holy Gaon Rebbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg, and other prominent endorsements. Rabbi Mordechai Halberstadt (1645–1769), Av Beit Din of Düsseldorf, was one of the leading rabbis of Ashkenaz. He served in major rabbinical positions in Halberstadt, Reiseheim, Darmstadt, and finally Düsseldorf (from which he took his name). In his later years, he was regarded as the elder halachic authority of Ashkenaz. The approbations and the editor’s introduction in this sefer emphasize the author’s extraordinary expertise in halachic ruling. [6], 102 Leaves. 20.5 cm.